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xxxiv
INTRODUCTION
There are also cases, where something is added which, without changing the general sense, renders a statement fuller, more picturesque, or more vivid. Thus:—
| First edition. | Second edition. | |
| P.24. | A sandy desert skirted along the doubtful confine of Syria, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. | A sandy desert, alike destitute of wood and water, skirts along the doubtful confine of Syria, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. |
| P.48. | The spirit of improvement had passed the Alps and been felt even in the woods of Britain. | The spirit of improvement had passed the Alps and been felt even in the woods of Britain, which were gradually cleared away to open a free space for convenient and elegant habitations. |
| P.57. | The sciences of physic and astronomy were cultivated with some degree of reputation; but if we except the inimitable Lucian, an age of indolence passed away without producing a single writer of genius, who deserved the attention of posterity. | The sciences of physic and astronomy were successfully cultivated by the Greeks; the observations of Ptolemy and the writings of Galen are studied by those who have improved their discoveries and corrected their errors; but if we except the inimitable Lucian, this age of indolence passed away without having produced a single writer of original genius, or who excelled in the arts of elegant composition. |
Gibbon's autograph annotations to the first chapter of his workIt may be noticed in this connexion that at a later period Gibbon set to work to revise the second edition, but did not get further than p. 32 of the first volume.[1] His own copy with autograph marginal notes was exhibited last year, on the occasion of the Gibbon Centenary, by the
- ↑ It is stated that there are also unimportant annotations in vols. iv. and vi.
